Creation Stories

Research Paper # 75193

Anthropology > Cultural
Native-American Studies
Sociology

Creation Stories

This paper explains and compares the Norse or Hungarian creation myth and the "Old-Man-in-the-Sky" creation myth of the Salish tribe of North America.

1,100 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2006 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the one common theme, found in both stories, is the presence of the "all powerful", which, in the "Old-Man-in-the-Sky", was the one who had complete control over all things on earth and, in the Norse story, was father eternity who had control over the world. The author points out that some of the key features of the "Old-Man-in-the-Sky" myth are the distinction placed on the white man as inherently different from the Native Americans and the essential part played by a beaver, an otter, a bear and a buffalo, which are found in the area the Salish people lived (northern parts of Washington stretching to Montana). The paper states that both of these myths reflect the cultures of the people who adopted them and help explain why each society performs the way they do.

From the Paper:

"The second of the creation myths comes from the Salish Native American Tribe and sometimes called the Flatheads. There are only two main characters to this story, Old-Man-in-the-Sky, and Old Man Coyote. This story begins with the world already created by Old-Man-in-the-Sky. After creating the world, Old-Man-in-the-Sky drained off the water and collected it into the "big salt holes" to from the oceans, and the land dried out except for the lakes and rivers. One day Old man Coyote became lonely and went up to the sky world and would talk to Old-Man-in-the-Sky."